Editing Demographics of Sri Lanka (section)

==Ethnicity==
[[File:Sri Lanka - Ethnicity 2012.png|thumbnail|left|200px|Majority ethnicity by DS Division according to 2012 census]]
The [[Sinhalese people|Sinhalese]] make up 74.9% of the population (according to 2012 census) and are concentrated in the densely populated south-west and central parts of the island.<ref name=eth2012/> 

The [[Sri Lankan Tamil people|Sri Lanka Tamils]], who live predominantly in the [[Northern Province, Sri Lanka|north]] and [[Eastern Province, Sri Lanka|east]] of the island, form the largest minority group at 11.1% (according to the 2012 census) of the population.<ref name=eth2012/>

The [[Sri Lankan Moors|Moors]], descendants of Arab + Indian traders and native Sri Lankan Tamils, form the third largest ethnic group at 9.3% of the population.<ref name=eth2012/> These Tamil-speaking Muslims are mostly concentrated in urban areas in the southern parts of the island with substantial populations in the [[Central Province, Sri Lanka|Central]] and [[Eastern Province, Sri Lanka|Eastern]] provinces. During times of [[Portuguese Ceylon|Portuguese colonization]], Moors were persecuted, and many forced to retreat to the central highlands and the eastern coast.{{Citation needed|date=March 2015}}

There are also [[Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka|Indian Tamils]] who form a distinct ethnic group comprising 4.1% of the population.<ref name=eth2012/> The British brought them to Sri Lanka in the 19th century as tea and rubber plantation workers, and they remain concentrated in the "tea country" of south-central Sri Lanka. The Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka were considered to be "stateless" and over 300,000 Indian Tamils were deported back to India, due to the agreement between Sri Lanka and India in 1964.<ref name="Kingsbury">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OhupAgAAQBAJ|title=Sri Lanka and the Responsibility to Protect: Politics, Ethnicity and Genocide|last1=Kingsbury|first1=Damien|last2=Kingsbury|first2=Senior Lecturer in International Development Damien|date=2012-03-12|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781136639975|language=en}}</ref> Under the pact, India granted citizenship to the remainder, some 200,000 of whom now live in India. Another 75,000 Indian Tamils, who themselves or whose parents once applied for Indian citizenship, now wish to remain in Sri Lanka. The government has stated these Tamils will not be forced to return to India, although they are not technically citizens of Sri Lanka. By the 1990s most Indian Tamils had received Sri Lankan citizenship, and some even were not granted Sri Lankan citizenship until 2003.<ref name="Kingsbury"/><ref>{{Cite book|title=A History|last=De Silva|first=C.R|pages=262}}</ref>

Smaller minorities include the [[Vedda]]s, the indigenous people of Sri Lanka; [[Sri Lankan Malays|Malays]] who descend from Austronesian settlers; the [[Burgher people|Burghers]], who are descendants of [[European ethnic groups|European]] [[colonist]]s, principally from [[Portugal]], the [[Netherlands]] and, the [[United Kingdom|UK]]; the [[Chinese people in Sri Lanka|ethnic Chinese]] migrants who came to the island in the 18th and 19th centuries; and the [[Sri Lanka Kaffirs|Kaffirs]], a small population who are descended from Africans.
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{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right; font-size:95%"
|+ Population of Sri Lanka by ethnic group 1881 to 2012<ref name=eth2012>{{cite web|title=Census of Population and Housing of Sri Lanka, 2012 - Table A3: Population by district, ethnic group and sex|url=http://www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/CPH2011/Pages/Activities/Reports/FinalReport/Population/Table%20A3.pdf|publisher=Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304202454/http://www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/CPH2011/Pages/Activities/Reports/FinalReport/Population/Table%20A3.pdf|archive-date=2016-03-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Table 2.10: Population by ethnic group and census years|url=http://www.statistics.gov.lk/Abstract%202013/CHAP2/2.10.pdf|work=Statistical Abstract 2013|publisher=Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808035544/http://www.statistics.gov.lk/Abstract%202013/CHAP2/2.10.pdf|archive-date=2014-08-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Population by ethnic group|url=http://sis.statistics.gov.lk/statHtml/statHtml.do?orgId=144&tblId=DT_POP_SER_267&conn_path=I2|work=LankaSIS Sri Lanka Statistical Information Service|publisher=Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402110047/http://sis.statistics.gov.lk/statHtml/statHtml.do?orgId=144&tblId=DT_POP_SER_267&conn_path=I2|archive-date=2015-04-02}}</ref>
! rowspan=2|Year
! colspan=2|[[Sinhalese people|Sinhalese]]
! colspan=2|[[Sri Lankan Tamil people|Sri Lankan Tamils]]{{Efn|name=IT|[[Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka|Indian Tamils]] were only classified as a separate ethnic group from 1911 onwards. Prior to this they were included with [[Sri Lankan Tamil people|Sri Lankan Tamils]].}}
! colspan=2|[[Sri Lankan Moors]]{{Efn|name=IM|Indian Moors were only classified as a separate ethnic group from 1911 to 1971. Prior to 1911 they were included with [[Sri Lankan Moors]]. After 1971 they were included with Others.}}
! colspan=2|[[Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka|Indian Tamils]]{{Efn|name=IT}}
! colspan=2|[[Sri Lankan Malays]]
! colspan=2|[[Burgher people|Burghers]]/<br />Eurasian
! colspan=2|[[Indian Moors]]{{Efn|name=IM}}
! colspan=2|Others
! rowspan=2|Total<br />No.
|-
! width="60"|No. || width="40"|%
! width="60"|No. || width="40"|%
! width="60"|No. || width="40"|%
! width="60"|No. || width="40"|%
! width="60"|No. || width="40"|%
! width="60"|No. || width="40"|%
! width="60"|No. || width="40"|%
! width="60"|No. || width="40"|%
|-
| align=left|1881 Census
| 1,846,600 || {{percentage bar|width=50|66.91}}
| 687,200 || {{percentage bar|width=50|24.90}}
| 184,500 || {{percentage bar|width=50|6.69}}
| colspan=2|
| 8,900 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.32}}
| 17,900 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.65}}
| colspan=2|
| 14,500 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.53}}
| '''2,759,700'''
|-
| align=left|1891 Census
| 2,041,200 || {{percentage bar|width=50|67.86}}
| 723,900 || {{percentage bar|width=50|24.07}}
| 197,200 || {{percentage bar|width=50|6.56}}
| colspan=2|
| 10,100 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.34}}
| 21,200 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.70}}
| colspan=2|
| 14,200 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.47}}
| '''3,007,800'''
|-
| align=left|1901 Census
| 2,330,800 || {{percentage bar|width=50|65.36}}
| 951,700 || {{percentage bar|width=50|26.69}}
| 228,000 || {{percentage bar|width=50|6.39}}
| colspan=2|
| 11,900 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.33}}
| 23,500 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.66}}
| colspan=2|
| 20,000 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.56}}
| '''3,566,000'''
|-
| align=left|1911 Census
| 2,715,500 || {{percentage bar|width=50|66.13}}
| 528,000 || {{percentage bar|width=50|12.86}}
| 233,900 || {{percentage bar|width=50|5.70}}
| 531,000 || {{percentage bar|width=50|12.93}}
| 13,000 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.32}}
| 26,700 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.65}}
| 32,700 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.80}}
| 25,600 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.62}}
| '''4,106,400'''
|-
| align=left|1921 Census
| 3,016,200 || {{percentage bar|width=50|67.05}}
| 517,300 || {{percentage bar|width=50|11.50}}
| 251,900 || {{percentage bar|width=50|5.60}}
| 602,700 || {{percentage bar|width=50|13.40}}
| 13,400 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.30}}
| 29,400 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.65}}
| 33,000 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.73}}
| 34,600 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.77}}
| '''4,498,600'''
|-
| align=left|1931 Estimate
| 3,473,000 || {{percentage bar|width=50|65.45}}
| 598,900 || {{percentage bar|width=50|11.29}}
| 289,600 || {{percentage bar|width=50|5.46}}
| 818,500 || {{percentage bar|width=50|15.43}}
| 16,000 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.30}}
| 32,300 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.61}}
| 36,300 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.68}}
| 41,800 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.79}}
| '''5,306,000'''
|-
| align=left|1946 Census{{Efn|The 1941 Census was postponed due to World War II.}}
| 4,620,500 || {{percentage bar|width=50|69.41}}
| 733,700 || {{percentage bar|width=50|11.02}}
| 373,600 || {{percentage bar|width=50|5.61}}
| 780,600 || {{percentage bar|width=50|11.73}}
| 22,500 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.34}}
| 41,900 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.63}}
| 35,600 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.53}}
| 48,900 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.73}}
| '''6,657,300'''
|-
| align=left|1953 Census{{Efn|The 1951 Census was postponed due to a shortage of paper at the time.}}
| 5,616,700 || {{percentage bar|width=50|69.36}}
| 884,700 || {{percentage bar|width=50|10.93}}
| 464,000 || {{percentage bar|width=50|5.73}}
| 974,100 || {{percentage bar|width=50|12.03}}
| 25,400 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.31}}
| 46,000 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.57}}
| 47,500 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.59}}
| 39,500 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.49}}
| '''8,097,900'''
|-
| align=left|1963 Census
| 7,512,900 || {{percentage bar|width=50|71.00}}
| 1,164,700 || {{percentage bar|width=50|11.01}}
| 626,800 || {{percentage bar|width=50|5.92}}
| 1,123,000 || {{percentage bar|width=50|10.61}}
| 33,400 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.32}}
| 45,900 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.43}}
| 55,400 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.52}}
| 19,900 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.19}}
| '''10,582,000'''
|-
| align=left|1971 Census
| 9,131,241 || {{percentage bar|width=50|71.96}}
| 1,423,981 || {{percentage bar|width=50|11.22}}
| 855,724 || {{percentage bar|width=50|6.74}}
| 1,174,606 || {{percentage bar|width=50|9.26}}
| 43,459 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.34}}
| 45,376 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.36}}
| colspan=2|
| 15,510 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.12}}
| '''12,689,897'''
|-
| align=left|1981 Census
| 10,979,561 || {{percentage bar|width=50|73.95}}
| 1,886,872 || {{percentage bar|width=50|12.71}}
| 1,046,926 || {{percentage bar|width=50|7.05}}
| 818,656 || {{percentage bar|width=50|5.51}}
| 46,963 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.32}}
| 39,374 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.27}}
| colspan=2|
| 28,398 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.19}}
| '''14,846,750'''
|-
| align=left|2001 Census{{Efn|name=census01|2001 Census was only carried out in 18 of the 25 [[Districts of Sri Lanka|districts]]. Inclusion of data would be misleading.}}
| colspan=17|
|-
| align=left|2011 Census{{Efn|name=census12|The official census dates for the 2011 Census was 20 March 2012.}}
| 15,250,081 || {{percentage bar|width=50|74.90}}
| 2,269,266 || {{percentage bar|width=50|11.15}}
| 1,892,638 || {{percentage bar|width=50|9.30}}
| 839,504 || {{percentage bar|width=50|4.12}}
| 44,130 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.22}}
| 38,293 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.19}}
|  colspan=2|
| 25,527 || {{percentage bar|width=50|0.13}}
| '''20,359,439'''
|}

<gallery perrow="4" heights="170" widths="160" caption="Data from the 2011 census">
SinhaleseMap2012.png|Sinhalese
SriLankanTamils2012.png|Sri Lankan Tamils
SriLankanMoors2012.png|Sri Lankan Moors
IndianTamilsofSriLanka2012.png|Indian/Malayaga Tamils
</gallery>
{{clear}}